Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen
and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila will drive a leg each
in the two-day snow and ice rally based in Rovaniemi, as the final part of
the squad's pre-season testing schedule.

Hirvonen will drive the Fiesta RS WRC on the opening leg of the rally
before Latvala takes the wheel for the second day.

The Arctic Rally will conclude the Fiesta RS WRC's comprehensive test and
development programme ahead of its FIA World Rally Championship debut at
Rally Sweden (10 - 13 February) next month. It will be an extension of the
team's four-day test in Sweden, which begins on Friday, and the Fiesta RS
WRC will be seen in its usual white test livery.

The rally is the opening round of the Finnish Rally Championship. Friday's
opening leg contains five special stages covering 98.47km, while Saturday's
action comprises a further five speed tests covering 132.99km.

Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson emphasised that the car had
been entered purely for testing purposes. "The Fiesta RS WRC has covered
thousands of kilometres in testing over the last four or five months.
However, a traditional test cannot truly replicate genuine competition for
learning about a car. We believe that going to the Arctic Rally will
provide ideal preparation for both the team and the drivers ahead of Rally
Sweden."

Hirvonen competed in the Arctic Rally in 2001 and 2002 and the 30-year-old
Finn said: "The rally has a fantastic Arctic atmosphere, which is difficult
to explain until you have witnessed it. It has great winter conditions for
driving and the stages are fast, but sometimes quite technical. It's an
ideal location to test the new car in a competitive way ahead of Sweden,
and I'm excited that the team is coming to my home country again."

Latvala, too, is looking forward to testing the Fiesta RS WRC in a rally
environment. "At a normal test a driver covers the same section of road
continuously and quickly learns how to drive it. Almost all the roads in
the Arctic Rally are used only once, so it gives the team the opportunity
to see how the car performs in competitive surroundings. The stages will
be a similar length to a WRC round so it really will be a perfect test
opportunity," he said.